


Balance it out

by ReikoNatsume



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Mention of vomiting in first chapter, Torture, Violence, balance, it's sad but I need a happy ending, just give me time to write it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:01:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28128798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReikoNatsume/pseuds/ReikoNatsume
Summary: What if Nightmare was alone, without team to care for? What if he got caught and forced to spill some of his secrets? Who knows what will happen? Certainly not me with my feral brain ;)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 45





	1. Captured and suffering

It has been ten years since Dream left the stone.

He was sitting in the big meeting hall as a Star Sans, with Ink and Blue, holding a meeting of the Council. He loved being able to help people, but the topic of the meeting made him feel less than happy. All the Judges from the AUs were complaining about two people, Error the Destroyer of the AUs and Nightmare, his precious brother who was corrupted by negativity and spreading negativity across the Multiverse.

It pained him to plan against him, but positivity needed to be protected.

“I say we gang up on him and bring him down.” Red, from Underfell snarled.

“It won’t be so easy. He will strive if we attack him with negative feelings.” Ink said calmly.

“So, how about going to a positive AU, filling it with us, feeling negative, to lure him and then leave, letting positivity hit him.” G, from Echotale proposed.

The skeletons thought it over and accepted it.

\---------

A few days later they decided to implement the plan, with Ink holding magic blocking cuffs made by Sci to put on Nightmare when the chance comes. The Judges were hidden and tensed seeing a goopy portal appear.

The black skeleton stepped through it looking around “Weird, I thought it was the part of positive balance. Why is it so negative?” he murmured.

Lust who was hidden near hearing it with shock ‘balance, what does he mean? Dream never said anything about any balance. Does he not know?’ he thought as he looked at Nightmare walking further down the road. That was when Ink stepped out of hiding.

“Your reign of terror ends today Nightmare!” he shouted and at once all skeletons left the AU.

With positivity again returning to it, hitting Nightmare with the force of sledgehammer it brought him to his knees with a shout. Ink used this moment to hit Nightmare in the head, making him fall unconscious and put the cuffs on him. He then picked Nightmare up and brought him to the meeting hall to put him on a chair where they tied up his tentacles and legs.

Dream observed it sadly and waited with others until his brother woke up.

Two hours later there was a groan from Nightmare and his uncovered eye opened to change into a slit as he noticed he was surrounded by the Council members.

He started fighting the bonds and with dread realized he couldn’t use magic. “What do you want from me, you bastards?!”

Ink got up and stepped closer “Depends on how truthful you are, we will ask you questions and you better answer.”

Nightmare scoffed and looked at the wall ignoring all the useless questions. When he thought all the versions of “Why are you trying to kill positivity?” were asked Lust got closer and asked question that made him react.

“What did you mean about the balance in the AU we caught you?”

Nightmare flinched and his eye light disappeared.

Dream looked at Lust confused, “What do you mean? There’s no balance, not that I remember of...”

Lust shrugged “He muttered something about it when he came into the AU, I was the only one near enough to hear it.”

Everyone looked at Nightmare who was trying hard to keep neutral expression but failed as the tips of his tentacles kept fidgeting.

“Nightmare! You will tell us what it means now!” Ink shouted and Nightmare glared at him.

“Or what? You will kill me?” he asked sarcastically with a smirk and continued ignoring them.

Red lost control and summoned a sharp bone to then stab Nightmare’s leg. Everyone flinched and expected Nightmare to scream out, but the other just grit his teeth and glared at the other, “Is that all you can do? I had worse when I was five.” He said coldly making Red back off shaken.

“Nightmare? You weren’t corrupted until we were ten, how did you...?”

Nightmare shook with his head hung low, everyone waited for his reaction but the cold laughter that left Nightmare wasn’t what they expected. “You really asked me this... I never expected you to not connect the dots, ten years out of the stone and still not able to understand... Why don’t you ask your precious friends... ah, I remember... I killed them all, gave them what they deserved... you have no right to ask me how I got hurt, not when I SHOWED YOU THEIR TRUE FACES THAT DAY!” he finished in a scream.

Dream shook his head “I... you are confused brother, they were nice...” he tried weakly only for Nightmare to scoff.

“And you are surprised I never tell you anything.” he said and turned his face away from them “Kill me already, because I won’t stop my work.”

Stretch was ready to summon a blaster when Ink stepped forward, “No, not until you explain the balance thing.”

Nightmare scoffed, “You can try, but killing me will be faster, you will just have to deal with the backlash later, I'm not telling anything to people who see me as worthless.”

Dream stepped closer and tried to touch Nightmare who snarled, “Don’t touch me! I know you don’t care about me, not since that day, so stop acting like you do... I’m not that child anymore.”

Dream flinched back with teary eyes.

Stretch used blue magic to pick Nightmare in his chair up and started carrying him down to holding cells with Ink following behind him. They let Nightmare out of the chair making him able to walk around the small cell, his tentacles still tied up.

Back in the meeting room they tried to figure out how to get the truth from him.

“How about truth serum?” Sci proposed.

“Won’t he be able to fight it with his strong magic?” Ink asked only for Sci to shake his head.

“Not with the cuffs on, but he can’t have it until he’s more tired out, because his mind may still resist the serum.”

Stretch scoffed “How do we do it then? He doesn’t seem easily shaken.”

G cleared his throat “Actually, I may have an idea, but it’s cruel.” The Judges listened to his plan only for Dream to slam his hands on the table.

“You are not going to torture my brother!” he shouted, and Ink made him sit down again.

“Dream, it’s the only chance we have.” Dream pushed Ink away and got up.

“I will have no part in it.” He caid coldly and left the room.

They immediately started their plan, despite Dream’s refusal, but only some Sanses agreed to do it, others deciding it was too much.

Nightmare was sitting on the bed in the cell, not looking at them, “Did you finally decide to end me?” he asked coldly and flinched as he felt them touch him, “What are you doing?!” he couldn’t say more when a gag was forced into his mouth and secured in place.

Next was blindfold and noise canceling headphones. They then put him down on the bed and tied him to it. Their plan was to make Nightmare weakened by sensory deprivation.

Before leaving Nightmare, Ink healed the stab wound left by Red.

Someone was checking up on Nightmare every half an hour, but it wasn’t until the afternoon of the next day when Nightmare seemed to lose himself to the torture.

There were no tears, but his body was shaking, bones rattling and tentacles twitching constantly.

They again moved him into the meeting hall and called Dream, who reluctantly came and looked how they took the blindfold, headphones and the gag off Nightmare, showing his neutral face, but they were the Judges, they saw clearly, he was shaken by the torture.

Sci stepped forward and while Red forced his mouth open Sci poured the truth serum into his mouth. They waited until Sci nodded showing the serum was working now.

Ink stepped forward “What is the balance?”

Nightmare swayed and answered in bland tone, “There’s balance in everything, positivity and negativity, creation and destruction, death and life, good and evil... all those are balances.” Whispers rolled over the room.

“What would happen if the balance was irreparably broken?” Sans asked, dreading the answer.

“The Multiverse will collapse, if feelings are not balanced the AUs that are part of the stronger part will fall apart on their own.”

Dream gasped with tears in his eyes.

“What about balance between creation and destruction?” Ink asked.

“If there’s too many AUs they will crash into one another and fall into the void.” Nightmare’s bland voice said.

There were shouts of outrage and fear around the room while Nightmare swayed in his seat, his face taking on unhealthy hue.

Sci panicked and untied the negative guardian from the chair, the other falling to his knees and vomiting. Sci noticed the remnants of the serum there, but most of it was the black goop of the guardian.

Everyone backed off scared as Nightmare rose to his feet and glared at the people gathered.

“I don’t care anymore. I’m not going to protect you anymore... you are just like them. Suffer then.”

He said as his tentacles melted to then reappear untied, he let the goop on his fingers change to sharp claws and cut off the cuffs.

“Thank you for the meal, enjoy your deaths.” He said and disappeared through a portal before anyone could catch him again.

Dream fell to his knees with teary eyes, “I was killing him, by trying to destroy the negativity, by pushing the balance away. I don’t deserve to call myself his brother.”


	2. Realization

Nightmare was in one of the negative AUs with monsters on the surface, where he could easily hide his aura and blend among the monsters.

He took a small house with a big garden, surrounded by thick forest for himself and stayed there, recovering from his treatment at the hands of the council.

He wrote a message to Error, warning him about them and how he spilled about the balances.

Error thankfully didn’t blame him, and was even furious on his behalf, destroying AUs more passionately for a while in revenge for the guardian, which made Nightmare feel warm inside, especially when Error would bring him little trinkets from the AUs he destroys.

At this point Nightmare had to stack all the pillows and plushies in different room to not overfill his bedroom.

He was now in the kitchen drinking some coffee he got from Error who said he has no use for something to make ‘dirty bean water’. There was some knocking on his door, and he got up, thinking it’s the neighborhood kids sneaking to visit him again to eat fruit from his garden.

After the first time he caught them there, he told them they can do it if they tell him they came by.

He opened the door to instead see Red, Sans and Stretch, the last one already having a blaster summoned.

Nightmare froze, shaking especially when he heard the chatter of kids in the distance.

“Hello, bastard.” Stretch snarled and his blaster started charging up when there was a happy yell.

“Mister Nightmare! We came by! Can we go into the garden?!”

Nightmare glared at the three that froze and looked towards the kids that walked closer, “Yes, just don’t climb the apple tree, it got damaged during the last storm and I still didn’t check how unstable it is.” he said calmly, and the kids nodded.

“Thank you mister Nightmare. Oh, my mom sends me with milk, in thanks for the fruit.” one of the kids, a small fox said and took a big bottle of milk, handing it to Nightmare who smiled slightly.

“Tell her I’m sending thanks and that she didn’t have to, there’s no chance for me to eat all the fruit alone either way.”

The fox giggled, “She knew you will say it and said that it’s the same with milk for us.”

Nightmare nodded and waved the kids off as they went to the side gate to his garden.

After the kids were out of the earshot Nightmare glared at the three, who stayed silent during the exchange “What do you want? I did nothing since you fucking tortured me.” He snapped.

“Exactly, what about the balance?” Red asked, and Nightmare scoffed.

“I have no one worthy of suffering for, I will not do anything because you ask me for it, or force me, not after what you did. You should be happy, that’s what you wanted after all.”

It was quiet until Nightmare heard the kids scream for him and ran to the garden to see the apple tree start falling to the ground, “Damn it.” he hissed and ran there, his tentacles appearing and holding the tree up.

“Anyone hurt?” The kids shook their heads, “Alright, bring me the rope from the shed.” He asked, and one ran for it.

The three Judges observed as Nightmare took the rope from the kid, thanking him with a smile, tied it to the tree and then with only his hands straightened the tree and tied the rope to a stone standing on the edge of the garden. He then looked at the roots of the tree and the branches and started tinkering around, cutting some branches.

“The tree should heal soon, now take the apples that fell to the ground on are on the branches I cut off, the tree needs to resettle into the ground.”

The kids chorused a: “Yes mister Nightmare.” and continued like nothing happened.

Nightmare returned to the three, glaring at them, the gentleness he showed to the kids nonexistent, “How did you even find me?”

Red grinned “Rumors in the city. We all were looking for you in many negative AUs, the three of us got lucky.”

Nightmare growled and walked to the front door, “I just want to live calmly until the end of my days, is it too much to ask for some calm and quiet for once in my life...” He grumbled.

“That’s what we don’t get... you act like you were working hard since your birth, which is ridiculous.” Stretch said.

Nightmare went into the house and held the door, “If you want to know that ask my precious ‘brother’. He knows, unless he’s really an idiot.” he sneered and slammed the door closed.

Red was about to knock again when Sans stopped him, “Leave it, we know where he lives, we won’t tell the other, just in case, but let’s talk to Dream about it.” Sans said and before Stretch asked why he added, “He’s hurting, whenever he mentions the past even a little or calls Dream his brother, there’s this flash of hurt in his eyes, only visible if you look really close.” The two quieted down.

“Let’s talk with the kids before we leave.” Stretch proposed and Sans reluctantly agreed.

They went into the garden, “Hey kiddos! Can we ask you some questions?”

One of the kids, a little cat monster nodded while others continued with the fruit, “How did you get to know Nightmare?”

The cat puffed up his cheeks, “He’s mister Nightmare, or doctor if you know this really cool secret.”

Sans frowned, “Doctor?"

The cat nodded, “Once I got hurt falling from a tree and he brought me inside to heal me and I asked about this pretty paper he had hung on the wall and he said he has uhm, PhD in Ancient Magic and its practical use. He showed me pretty letters and what they do, called them runes.”

Sans nodded surprised, “Okay, so how did you meet mister Nightmare?” Red asked.

“We were walking around the forest and found this garden. We thought no one lived in the house and came in. Not long after he came here asking what we are doing here. He looked angry. Then...”

A fox kid came over and continued the story, “I told him we wanted some fruit because they cost a lot in the city and are hard to buy, he then looked a little sad and said as long as we tell him when we come, we can take however much we want. He said he’s easy to spook and doesn’t like surprises.”

Red remembered the startled look on Nightmare’s face when he opened the door to see them.

“Thanks kiddo, see you.” Stretch said and the three left, Red noticing Nightmare at the window, probably observing if they tried anything.

\-----------------

Later in the meeting hall they told the others everything, but which AU Nightmare is at.

Dream sighed sadly with small smile, “I’m not surprised he got a PhD, he always read books in the past and learned how to use magic before he was seven. And well, he was a kind soul as a child, but I never saw him anywhere near the village, playing with others or anything. When he needed something, he preferred to wait for a traveling merchant than go to the village... I don’t know why, they were nice.”

Sans sighed, “Were they nice to the both of you, or just to you?”

Dream looked confused, just like the others, “I mean, I spend a lot of time in the village, but Nightmare always said he prefers to watch the tree.”

Red looked from Dream to Sans, “What are you insinuating?”

Sans got up and started pacing, “I don’t know... he said the villagers deserved what they got, the kids said he’s easy to startle, Dream said he didn’t go to the village often... all I can think about is abuse.”

Dream gasped while others tensed.

“It doesn’t happen...” Stretch tried but Sans interrupted him.

“Among monsters. For us children are precious and protected, especially in the underground, but the village was on the surface, not only monsters but humans too. Dream?”

Dream shook in his seat, “He often had some bruises, but said he tripped or fell down the tree, he... he was the best at climbing, always careful... no... I was friends with my brother’s abusers?” Dream looked crushed while others tried to imagine Nightmare as a child.

For G apparently it was too hard, “How did he even look as a kid?”

Dream smiled weakly and took a small frame from his inventory showing it to others. In the picture Dream was in his signature yellow, smiling and waving to the camera.

Nightmare was standing next to him, holding a thick book in his arms, wearing purple clothes with gold circlet on his head. If not for their different eye lights they would be able to swap clothes and easily pass as the other.

“Why would they abuse him? Did he do something in the village, like attack someone?” Lust asked while Dream snorted bitterly.

“Nightmare? Attack someone? First complicated magic he learned wasn’t a bone attack but a shortcut because he would rather run than fight. If I had to guess I would say it’s because he’s guardian of the negativity, but he didn’t spread it then, it was something the apples did on their own, it’s why we protected the tree.”

Sans sighed, “Hatred isn’t logical, humans hate each other for the color of their skin, you think they won’t hate someone for guarding negative feelings?”

Dream flinched and held his head, “I protected them... when Nightmare got corrupted, I fought against him trying to stop him from killing them... I stood up for my brother’s abusers and then fought him when he tried to keep the balance... he must hate me, and I can’t even blame him for it.”

There was a dark glitchy chuckle “Wow, you guys are really dense, but can use your brains from time to time I guess.”

Ink got up “Error! Show yourself!”

Error whistled and waved from the ceiling where he was looking through a small portal, “What? Want to punish me for destroying? And here I thought you knew about the balance. After all,... YOU TORTURED NIGHTMARE FOR THIS INFORMATION!!!” he started screaming, his glitches gone in his anger, everyone flinching scared of the Destroyer’s rage, “YOU FORCED SOME DRUG INTO HIM, TORTURED HIM AND NOW YOU THINK YOU HAVE ANY RIGHT TO DEMAND ANYTHING FROM HIM?!!!"

Error then glared at Dream, “Stop doing anything and the balance will hold itself up, leave Nightmare alone until he wants to see you... if Ink stopped creating, I would stop destroying, that’s how the balance works.” after that Error left, the portal closing behind him.

“How the hell did we stay alive?” G asked what everyone thought.


	3. The snapped tension

Nightmare had spent the next few weeks only with a rare visit from Error or the kids, tensely waiting for half of the Multiverse to appear at his doorstep.

With time he relaxed into his normal day routine and everything was alright until he woke up one day and looked into the mirror to see his usually covered eye visible and with a bright purple eye inside.

“Well, I guess that happened... it must be because the balance is even.” He mused to himself as he angled his head this and that way to look at the eye socket. He mentally shrugged and went on with his day. Today he was going down to the city to take care of a few things.

Just as he was heading somewhere, he felt someone observing him and secretly looked around noticing Mafia and Sans hiding behind a corner.

He held back a growl and continued, entering the city’s library.

He approached the old lizard lady and smiled gently, “Welcome back dear. How were your books?” She asked seeing him and taking the books from him.

“Perfect recommendations as always. I really appreciate you hiding highly sought out books so I can borrow them.” He said and ignored the two skeletons tailing him.

“Think nothing of it dear. I really appreciate the work you did on repairing some of the old books, so many doesn’t respect them anymore.”

Nightmare smiled and accepted the books she handed to him, trusting she already marked them on his card, “Blind bastards all of them, don’t appreciate the enrichment books give to us.”

The lizard chuckled, “Oh yes, by the way, I don’t want to bother you but what happened to your eye?”

Nightmare finished packing the books and touched his socket, “I guess my illness got a little better, at least for today.”

The lizard nodded kindly and held out some bonbons which Nightmare helped himself to, “I’m glad dear, enjoy the rest of your day.”

Nightmare took the lady’s hand and kissed the knuckles, “I will, don’t worry good lady.” He said with a wink making her chuckle and wave at him as he left.

He continued his day as he usually did, going to the market next, greeting some monster folks until he reached one of the stalls with a female fox monster.

“Ah, Nightmare. Here for your usual?”

Nightmare nodded and smiled as from behind the adult’s skirt came a little fox girl and waved at him, “I trust my boy gave you the milk instead of drinking it and waiting to handle me the bottle back.”

Nightmare chuckled as he took out a bag of apples and exchanged them for a bag of eggs and milk. “Don’t worry he did. Also, I found wasps in the south part of the forest, warn the kids to not go there until I do something about it.”

The lady nodded, “I will, thank you for the warning and the help.”

Nightmare shrugged, “I don’t have meat on my bones to get stung, but the kids do.”

They chatted some more with Mafia, Sans and all the other Judges watching and listening, due to the camera, hidden in Mafia’s necktie. Everyone was shocked seeing how Nightmare interacted with people of the AU.

Right now, Nightmare was saying goodbye to the vendor and the little fox girl who got handed some chocolates Nightmare got from the lady at the library earlier.

After that Nightmare made got into an antique shop, looking through old books and trinkets, buying something they couldn’t see and then went to a caffe and ordered something.

Mafia and Sans were in the booth next to Nightmare, trying to listen in but then flinched.

“Are you going to continue trying to spy on me, acting like clowns or will you join me?”

The skeletons at the Council panicked while Sans and Mafia warily moved into Nightmare’s booth, sitting in front of him.

“When did you spot us?” Mafia asked while Nightmare sipped his coffee with a smirk.

“Why? Were you trying to remain undetected? Because you did a poor job of it, I noticed you before I entered library. I thought about postponing my usual visit to the city, but it would inconvenience too many people if I did.”

Sans nodded, “Great. You are different with those people. Any reason?”

Nightmare looked at him calmly, “I have no reason to act my intimidating self with them, they are not constantly looking for my weaknesses to use them against me.” He said simply.

“So, not like the villagers... they abused you, hurt you didn’t they... why didn’t you ever told Dream?"

Nightmare’s hand shook as he looked away from the two.

Just then the waiter, a teenager cat monster came and put a piece of cake in front of Nightmare, “Are they bothering you, mister?”

Nightmare smiled weakly, “I’m fine Michael. How is Lizzy?”

The cat, Michael smiled “She’s great, thank you for the raspberries by the way."

Nightmare waved that away “They had grown a lot this year, I had more than I had jars for the jams, and I don’t only use raspberries.”

Michael smiled and nodded in goodbye as he was called back to job.

The two skeletons were quiet during the conversation.

“I would appreciate if you didn’t mention it anymore. I didn’t tell anything to Dream because I was a child, read a psychology book, children hide abuse, for many reasons that you are not privy to.” Nightmare took the small fork and started eating the cake.

“Dream wants to meet you.” Sans said, and Nightmare froze, “He’s not here because he wants to give you time so you can reach out yourself...”

Nightmare looked at Sans harshly, “You think I will want to see my ‘brother’ who let me be tortured because you wanted some answers?” He whispered poisonously only to be interrupted by Mafia.

“Dream was actually against it; he didn’t want us to do it.”

Nightmare looked surprised and returned to his cake moodily.

“So, what’s the deal with the eye? Why isn’t it all covered up?”

Nightmare sneered at the useless question, “The balance of course, and lowered stress levels. I’m covered in liquid negativity, of course it reacts to my emotions, although the fact it only happened now doesn’t paint you in good light.” He finished his cake and returned to his coffee.

It was quiet for a moment until Nightmare finished his coffee, “Tell Dream if he wants to meet me, he better comes alone, I won’t let anyone else into my home.” He said and went to the front to pay and take a takeout box to then leave the caffe.

\------------

It was a few days later when Dream was standing in front of Nightmare’s door.

He was dreading to knock on the door for the last ten minutes and seems like Nightmare lost his patience and simply opened the door,

“Do you plan on coming inside?”

Dream smiled weakly and came in with Nightmare closing the door behind him. The negative guardian led the way to the kitchen.

Nightmare prepared the tea and some snacks, and then the air filled with awkward silence.

Dream took a shaky breath, “Broth-... Nightmare... I wanted to apologize. I’m so so sorry... I was so blind; I know you hate me, and I understand it... I deserve no less for how I treated you. I will leave you alone if you don’t want to see me anymore and I promise I won’t fight against the balance anymore.” Dream wailed.

“I don’t hate you. I just wanted a happy and calm life, but with you deciding I was evil...” Nightmare said quietly only for Dream to get up. 

“No, I know you are not evil, I’m sorry, I... please, can we start over?” He asked hopefully.

Nightmare thought about it for some time to then nod and hug Dream, who threw himself at the negative Guardian and started sobbing happily as Nightmare’s eyes filled with relieved, hopeful tears.


End file.
